OTTAWA -- Bill Beaton is grateful for every moment in his new place to live near downtown Ottawa.

"Finally, we’re starting to do something for the current vets not just the old vets,” he said.

A veteran with the Canadian Air Force, serving from 1979 to 1986, his story too familiar to those who have served. About fifteen years ago, he caught pneumonia ending up in hospital and put on disability due to chronic pain.

"There’s a lot of vets that are still out on the streets, whether it’s addiction mental health or just life happening," said Beaton. "I happen to fall into the category of life happened."

Beaton was in and out of shelters, explaining it was only in the last few years' life has been somewhat stable with help from organizations like Soldiers for Soldiers and Vets Canada.

"Try looking for a place in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto for under 800 bucks a month. If you’re only making 1,100 bucks a month on ODSB, you’ve got $300 left to live,” he said.

That’s when he was approached about Veterans' House, a home that exclusively serves veterans who were formerly homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Located in Ottawa’s former Rockcliffe Airbase, now the Wateridge Village Community at the Andy Carswell Building Veterans House, it’s the first of its kind in the country.

The house opened in January, offering 40 bachelor units that are subsidized. Spearheaded by the Multifaith Housing Initiative, the plan is to kick off a fundraising campaign in 2022 to build four more houses across the country.

"Housing is the foundation of everything,” said Suzanne Le, the executive director of Multifaith Housing Initiative and Veterans House Canada. "We owe all those people who served us a duty of care and we owe them a debt and this is how we can start to pay it back."

Beaton, who turns 66 in January, said he’s grateful for a facility like this and would like to see more across the country.

"Vets aren’t just here in Ottawa they’re across the country. These guys need help, they need places like this.”

For more information on the Veterans House, visit the website.